Hawke had been sitting on the bed lost in thought when she saw Anders come up the stairs and into her room. It looked as though he had taken some pains to get cleaned up, his robes had been dusted down and his blonde hair looked a bit damp. She stood up and nervously adjusted her silk dress. She missed the secure feeling of her armor, she felt almost naked dressed like this, but if the mesmerized look on Anders face was any indication the dress had been a good choice for tonight.

"Trust me" Isabella had told her. She was more of a mind to agree with Aveline's choice of a deep blue green dress that matched Hawke's eyes, but Isabella was adamant that the fitted crimson dress, purchased on a whim with other more practicable clothes then promptly shoved to the bottom of the clothes chest forgotten, was the perfect choice for tonight. She couldn't believe Isabella finally talked her into wearing it, that girl didn't own anything in her wardrobe that wasn't on the suggestive side. At least she won the argument about her footwear and had won the right to wear her boots instead of those silly shoes with the heels on them. She was used to boots, although these were of soft kid leather instead of the more durably made work a day boots she usually wore. "He will melt into a puddle on the floor when he sees you in this dress" Isabelle told her with a saucy wink as she and Aveline left.

Although Anders was not quite in a puddle on the floor stage yet, the look on his face very clearly told her that this time Isabella had been right. "You're here, I wasn't sure you would come" Hawke said as she watched him move across the room. "Justice does not approve of my obsession with you, he believes you are a distraction" Anders replied. As he stopped by the fireplace, Hawke saw that the flames exposed hints of red in his blonde hair that she had never noticed before tonight. "It is one of the few things on which he and I disagree" he continued with a sad, shy smile. They stood across from one another, each unsure as to what the other would do next. Finally she blurted out "If you hadn't come, I'd be out looking for you." For a moment Ander's expression changed to one of remembered sadness. "When I was in the circle, love was only a game" he said as he moved closer to her. "It gave the templars too much power if there was something you couldn't stand to lose." He half turned away then and said in an anguished voice filled with pain and honesty "It would kill me to lose you." That tore at her heart more than anything, hearing the fear and suffering in his voice. "You're not going to lose me" she said as she closed the distance between them intent on comforting him, on reassuring him in his fears. He heard the rustle of silk as she moved and half looked up at her as if almost shy to say what was in his mind next. "No mage I know has ever dared to fall in love" He brought his hand up to her cheek, and was shocked to discover that her skin was so very soft. He had seen her so many times in battle with blood and gore covering that same soft skin he now caressed. He could feel the mana flow from his hand to her face where he cupped it, healing the little scrapes and cuts she had received from the last battle they had fought together. "It is the rule I will most cherish breaking" he murmured as he brought his lips to hers and kissed her.